Precipice
by Robert Harris
In his fictional account of the affair between ageing British prime minister H.H. Asquith and the vivacious young aristocrat Venetia Stanley during the summer of 1914, Robert Harris brings one of the most consequential chapters of modern history to life. Precipice spins a riveting drama around Asquith’s surviving letters to his lover, in which he details his romantic yearnings alongside top-secret intelligence as Europe hurtles headlong into World War One. In doing so, the novel – with great deftness and wit – explores the extent to which political power is shaped by the personal lives of those who wield it.
Precipice is the latest historical novel by Robert Harris, one of our favourite writers here at Five Books for his page-turners that rely on historical sources. Precipice is about the outbreak of World War I, told from the point of view of, amongst others, the British prime minister, H.H. Asquith. If this is a piece of history you’re at all interested in, it will make your jaw drop, and not in a good way. Winston Churchill also comes off looking very bad indeed.
Five Books review